The day is finally here. Sabres hockey begins tonight and what better way to get acquainted with the Red Wings.
Sabres/Red Wings preview: After months of workouts, practice and mental preparation, the Sabres are in Detroit tonight to open the regular season against their new divisional rivals, the Red Wings.
On Monday, the Sabres announced that Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott will act as co-captains for the season. Vanek will wear the "C" for home games, and Ott for the away ones.
“We just thought both guys represented what we wanted,” Rolston said. “Nothing more, nothing less than that. We thought it’s all about the influence they have on the team. Those guys are big influences on the team, so we thought that was the way to go.”
The Red Wings will have their new additions in the lineup - Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson. Alfredsson has had the Sabres number over the years when he played for Ottawa.
In 89 career games against Buffalo, Alfredsson has 84 points (42 goals, 42 assists), including eight game-winning goals.
The Sabres enter the season with many young players looking to make a difference. Rasmus Ristolainen, Mikhail Grigorenko and Zemgus Girgensons all hope to prove themselves this year in a group loaded with young talent.
Buffalo and Detroit have opened the season against each other twice, with both teams taking a game. The latest was 1999 when the Red Wings won 2-0.
These two teams will become much more familiar with each other this season, meeting four times. The Red Wings are a favorite to finish toward the top of the Atlantic division, so Buffalo will have to match their level of play.
Last season, the Red Wings finished with 56 points and made the playoffs as a #7 seed. On the other hand, the Sabres finished 12th with 48 points.
After this one, Buffalo will host Ottawa in the home opener Friday night, followed by a trip to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. There is nothing easy about the first few games and the Sabres will have a lot to prove this season.
Tonight's game is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. and will air on the NBC Sports Network. Rick Jeanneret and the Sabres can be heard on WGR 550.
John Scott, Jamie McBain and Johan Larsson will be healthy scratches for tonight's game.
Key stats:
- Daniel Alfredsson has 84 points in 89 career games against Buffalo (42 goals, 42 assists)
- The Sabres are 24-14-4 in season openers all-time and 7-8-0 when opening on the road
- Detroit's all-time record vs Buffalo is 50-52-13-1, and 35-18-5-1 at home
- Detroit is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games vs Buffalo, going back to 12/10/03
- Detroit finished 20-0-2 when scoring 3+ goals in a game last year
My prediction:
I'd like to say the Sabres will welcome Detroit to the division with a victory over the Red Wings, but I don't see it happening. Buffalo is capable of getting off to fast starts early in the season and I believe they will be better than everyone expects. However, Detroit is going to prove why being in the same division will become a problem for the Sabres. While they may not be as dominant and intimidating as they used to, they are still a threat. The Red Wings will start off their season with a win at home over Buffalo. Final score: Detroit 4, Buffalo 2
Pick 'em contest
I've been promoting this over the past few days and it's something I think may fans would enjoy. All you have to do is sign up and predict the scores of Sabres games. It's free and we'll be giving away prizes at the end of the season.
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